Fantasy: Week 4 positional rankings

Reid, Mike and Blayne get a little verbose as they ramp up the conversation for the Round 4 bye-heavy round. This is a two-part episode because there was so much good conversation. The show starts with a review of the top fantasy points from Round 3, includes a fantasy take on the trouble in Atlanta, adds Blayne's thoughts on the new value system and ends with our housekeeping section focusing on the international window.

Week 4 of MLS Fantasy throws us the first curveball of the season as fantasy managers are forced to deal with a condensed schedule and multiple international absences. Despite the lack of options, we have some exploitable matchups to target when selecting our squad. Let’s take a closer look at the top players at each position to help your squad make some moves up the leaderboards.

Start playing!

Goalkeepers

Fantasy: Week 4 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/TylerMiller9281.jpg?d7nq_FYKN9cdCkAXjOok5gYTozfgb5v3

Tyler Miller is the top GK option this week | USA Today Sports Images

Tyler Miller is in prime position to post his first shutout of the season, facing a battered Real Salt Lake attack on Saturday (10:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info) that has just two goals through three games and will be missing multiple key attackers due to suspension and international call-ups.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Tyler Miller	LAFC	vs. RSL	$5.7
2	Luis Robles	RBNY	vs. ORL	$5.9
3	Jesse Gonzalez	DAL	vs. COL	$6.4
4	Brad Knighton	NE	vs. CIN	$4.7
5	Carlos Miguel Coronel	PHI	vs. CLB	$4.5
6	Joe Bendik	CLB	at PHI	$4.5
7	Tim Howard	COL	at DAL	$5.9
8	Spencer Richey	CIN	at NE	$5.3
9	Brian Rowe	ORL	at RBNY	$4.7
10	Nick Rimando	RSL	at LAFC	$6.0

Defenders

Walker Zimmerman is averaging three bonus points per game to start the season and he has a good shot at contributing to a clean sheet against that depleted RSL front line. Combine that with his aerial threat on set pieces, and he gives us a high-upside defender that we can justify paying up for.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Walker Zimmerman	LAFC	vs. RSL	$7.3
2	Reto Ziegler	DAL	vs. COL	$6.7
3	Tim Parker	RBNY	vs. ORL	$6.3
4	Steven Beitashour	LAFC	vs. RSL	$5.9
5	Matt Hedges	DAL	vs. COL	$7.5
6	Eddie Segura	LAFC	vs. RSL	$5.6
7	Kyle Duncan	RBNY	vs. ORL	$5.2
8	Jordan Harvey	LAFC	vs. RSL	$5.5
9	Amro Tarek	RBNY	vs. ORL	$4.8
10	Connor Lade	RBNY	vs. ORL	$4.5
11	Gaston Sauro	CLB	at PHI	$6.0
12	Auston Trusty	PHI	vs. CLB	$5.6
13	Ryan Hollingshead	DAL	vs. COL	$5.8
14	Edgar Castillo	NE	vs. CIN	$5.6
15	Harrison Afful	CLB	at PHI	$7.7
16	Antonio Delamea	NE	vs. CIN	$5.4
17	Michael Mancienne	NE	vs. CIN	$6.0
18	Marquinhos Pedroso	DAL	vs. COL	$4.6
19	Brandon Bye	NE	vs. CIN	$4.4
20	Jack Elliott	PHI	vs. CLB	$4.8

Midfielders

Fantasy: Week 4 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Carles%20Gil%20%E2%80%93%20New%20England%20Revolution%20%E2%80%93%20Dallas%20game.jpg?CdgFoIG9BCU4xQgdDOh70BblH1yQ22lr

Carles Gil has had a hot start to his MLS career | USA Today Sports Images

Carles Gil has wasted no time in establishing himself as New England’s top fantasy target this season. The former La Liga attacker has three goals in his first three games in MLS, and with the Revs desperate for a win on Sunday, we can expect him to continue to be active at home against expansion side FC Cincinnati (4 pm ET | TV & streaming info).

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Carles Gil	NE	vs. CIN	$9.7
2	Daniel Royer	RBNY	vs. ORL	$8.0
3	Marco Fabian	PHI	vs. CLB	$9.0
4	Lee Nguyen	LAFC	vs. RSL	$8.2
5	Federico Higuain	CLB	at PHI	$9.4
6	Marc Rzatkowski	RBNY	vs. ORL	$7.5
7	Alex Muyl	RBNY	vs. ORL	$6.7
8	Vincent Bezecourt	RBNY	vs. ORL	$5.5
9	Nani	ORL	at RBNY	$9.2
10	Paxton Pomykal	DAL	vs. COL	$6.7
11	Diego Fagundez	NE	vs. CIN	$6.8
12	Michael Barrios	DAL	vs. COL	$7.6
13	Sean Davis	RBNY	vs. ORL	$7.8
14	Santiago Mosquera	DAL	vs. COL	$7.0
15	Kenny Saief	CIN	at NE	$7.6
16	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC	vs. RSL	$7.6
17	Andre Horta	LAFC	vs. RSL	$7.5
18	Haris Medunjanin	PHI	vs. CLB	$7.8
19	Artur	CLB	at PHI	$7.9
20	Pedro Santos	CLB	at PHI	$6.9
21	Damir Kreilach	RSL	at LAFC	$7.6
22	Brenden Aaronson	PHI	vs. CLB	$5.5
23	Wilfried Zahibo	NE	vs. CIN	$5.4
24	Jacori Hayes	DAL	vs. COL	$4.7
25	Leonardo Bertone	CIN	at NE	$7.5
26	Kellyn Acosta	COL	at DAL	$6.5
27	Roland Lamah	CIN	at NE	$7.5
28	Scott Caldwell	NE	vs. CIN	$5.4
29	Alejandro Bedoya	PHI	vs. CLB	$6.6
30	Ilsinho	PHI	vs. CLB	$5.6

Forwards

Carlos Vela has three goals and two assists over his last two games, and with a lack of standout options this week there’s no need to overthink rostering him at home against a RSL defense that was lit up for five goals in Week 3.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC	vs. RSL	$11.8
2	Adama Diomande	LAFC	vs. RSL	$9.8
3	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	vs. ORL	$10.8
4	Diego Rossi	LAFC	vs. RSL	$9.1
5	Latif Blessing	LAFC	vs. RSL	$6.9
6	Dominique Badji	DAL	vs. COL	$6.5
7	Fafa Picault	PHI	vs. CLB	$6.9
8	Teal Bunbury	NE	vs. CIN	$6.7
9	Kei Kamara	COL	at DAL	$9.3
10	Dom Dwyer	ORL	at RBNY	$9.5
11	Kekuta Manneh	CIN	at NE	$5.9
12	Juan Agudelo	NE	vs. CIN	$5.5
13	Cristian Penilla	NE	vs. CIN	$5.5
14	Patrick Mullins	CLB	at PHI	$5.3
15	David Accam	PHI	vs. CLB	$5.3
16	Juan Fernando Caicedo	NE	vs. CIN	$8.1
17	Matias Jorgensen	NYRB	vs. ORL	$6.7
18	Santiago Patiño	ORL	at RBNY	$5.3
19	JJ Williams	CLB	at PHI	$4.5
20	Andre Shinyashiki	COL	at DAL	$4.7